ABSTRACT
The most interesting aspect of problem-solving is why people fail to use a process either on their own problems or to facilitate teams in solving problems. Problem-solving is a cultural issue and it revolves around the issue of what constitutes work and who has the power to define it for the organization and the individual. Unless individuals have actually managed to save their own lives through applying what is essentially a complete problem-solving drill-sequence, they may tend to stay at the practitioner level of the Coyote, or the Competitor. Too many well-educated senior managers recognize the problem-solving process, but maintain this knowledge purely as part of their intellectual furniture. The failure to deploy problem-solving processes is probably due to the assumptions about what is acceptable or appropriate behaviour in the social aspect of the work-situation. The relevance of Milgram’s experiment to problem-solving lies in the link with social behaviour and the cues which the ambient work environment offers.
